Roaring to record highs

The London-St. Thomas market helps push national home sales record highs, with more Canadian homes sold in July than any other month in past 40 years

CANADIAN HOME SALES rocketed to a record in July as homebuyers emerged from lockdowns.

Transactions for existing properties reached 62,355 in the month, up 26 per cent from a month earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported. Benchmark prices were 2.3 per cent higher on the month, as pent-up demand for homes collided with extremely low inventory levels.

For the third month in a row, transactions were up on a month-over-month basis across the country. Among Canada’s largest markets, sales rose by 49.5 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area, 43.9 per cent in Greater Vancouver, 39.1 per cent in Montreal, 36.6 per cent in the Fraser Valley, 31.8 per cent in Hamilton-Burlington, 28.7 per cent in Ottawa, 16.9 per cent in London and St. Thomas, 15.7 per cent in Calgary, 12.1 per cent in Winnipeg, 9.7 per cent in Edmonton and 5.4 per cent in Quebec City.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity posted a 30.5 per cent year-over-year gain in July. The 62,355 transactions recorded in July 2020 marked the highest monthly sales figure on record going back more than 40 years.

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“With more and more of regular everyday life opening back up, realtors and their clients across Canada are making up for lost time, and it’s been a very busy summer as a result,” said London’s Costa Poulopoulos, chair of CREA and president and broker of record with StreetCity Realty Inc.

“With sellers and buyers returning to the market in record numbers as lockdowns are increasingly lifted, we continue to make sure clients stay safe by complying with government and health officials’ directives and advice, while continuing to use virtual technology to show properties and complete required forms and contracts,” added Poulopoulos.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in July 2020 was a record $571,500, up 14.3% from the same month last year. In London, the average price for homes sold in July was $487,120, a 17.5 rise over July 2019.